Cheap Comfort and Joy (Video) (Bill Forsyth) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Comfort and Joy

Oft Overlooked Christmas Gem
A real crime that this isn't available on DVD, as this is my all time favorite christmas movie. Quietly funny, sad and sweet, and the perfect antidote for a lonely christmas. Nice soundtrack by Mark Knoffler, full of quirky oddball performances, and a hilarious "Mr. Bunny" jingle that will stick in your mind whether you want it to or not ("hello folks!").

---

Sweet, funny and intelligent film
This is a thoroughly enjoyable film that I remember seeing on cable in the mid-1980's, wondering why it never got the attention that other films from the UK get. In the same vein as Bill Forsyth's "Local Hero," this film doesn't star any American actors, just good, Scottish character players. Bill Paterson, (probably best known to American audiences for his bit roles in "Crush" and "Witches") portrays morning drive DJ Alan "Dickie" Bird, whom we meet a week before Christmas--the day his girlfriend leaves him. Depressed and lonely, Alan looks for meaning in his life. Along the way, he stumbles upon a nasty turf war over ice cream (between the "Mr. Bunnys" and the Mr. McCools") and gets sucked in the middle. Set in modern Glasgow at a popular radio station (by the way, the radio station scenes are realistic) this film includes a lot of light, matter-of-fact ironies and funny moments (check out Alan's precious BMW at the beginning of the film and at the end; the xylophone player and the vocalist at the ice cream plant; and the shirts Alan's audio engineer wears). Enjoyable any time, but a shame this film will probably never be available on DVD. My favorite Christmas movie of all time.

---

FORSYTH DOCUMENTS THE ICE CREAM WARS
With his usual tongue-in-cheek, director Bill Forsyth sets out to document the 1980s ice-cream wars in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Abandoned at Christmas by his long-time livein and kleptomaniac Maddy (Eleanor David), Edinburgh disc jockey Alan (Bill Paterson)seeks 'comfort and joy' in the company of his friend Colin and family, only to feel lonelier than ever. His ensuing involvement with feuding gangs of ice-cream vendors provides a fine comedic counterpoint to his sense of loss.

Probably the best scene in the film is a confrontation between ice-cream mafioso Mr. MacCool (Roberto Bernardi) and his wayward offspring. The mix of lowland Scots and Italian accents may be too much for most American audiences, but it had me rolling on the floor. Alan's obvious interest in the mafioso's daughter (the much-underseen C.P. Grogan) points up his sense of futility - she's gorgeous, mysterious, and obviously a tease, and he's middle-aged, balding, potbellied, and trying to hang on to vestiges of youth by owning 'the ultimate driving machine.'

Not as entrancing as 'Local Hero,' nor as sincere as 'Gregory's Girl,' 'Comfort and Joy' is just right for those who want to see a non-sappy Christmas movie.